Episode list

The ten home cooks from across the US arrive in the communal kitchen in Ruther Glen, VA knowing that one will only have this one opportunity to impress the judges in being sent home at the end of the first two competitions. With only an hour for the cook, they are asked to put themselves forward in the first round called "If I Were a Recipe", namely to cook anything they want that demonstrates who they are as a cook and a person. With the judges' comments provided to them from round one, the cooks go into round two with ninety minutes to prepare not only a dish that represents them, but their home community, they who probably had to adapt whatever family recipes, many not native to the US, to use ingredients they could source where they live.

This week's theme is the daily dish: that go-to recipe that the cooks turn to when they're in a time crunch, that they don't even really have to think about in not having the time to pre-plan including having everything in their pantry and refrigerator, and that satisfies the cravings of the people they're feeding. They are given forty-five minutes to complete the challenge. With this challenge, the judges want to get a good feel for what it's like in the cooks' kitchen on a proverbial Tuesday night if they were a part of the family. For the second round for which they have ninety minutes, the cooks are asked to make that crowd pleasing dish that everyone always asks for, and/or that the cook him/herself adapted for that theme meal, such as meatless Monday.

This week is all about love in the cooks' food. In the first round, the cooks will have sixty minutes to prepare a dish that exemplifies when they want to show a little love to themselves, namely that dish that is their go-to when they want to treat themselves to feel better. In round two, they will have ninety minutes make a dish that is an expression of love for someone else, it either something that they prepare for someone else, that someone else has prepared for them, or that someone else prepared in general as some expression of love.

This week is all about portable meals. In round one for which the contestants have sixty minutes to prepare, they will each be making their go to hand held dish that can be eaten on the go. And for round two for which they will have ninety minutes to prepare, they will be making their go to dish to feed a crowd at an outdoor event, such as a garden party, a barbecue or a tailgate party, which usually means being cooked outdoors and/or being portable in being cooked elsewhere and brought prepared to the event.

This week is all about celebrations. In round one for which the cooks will have sixty minutes, they will each make a dish that celebrates a specific event in their life. Round two will literally be a celebration. Having an extra thirty minutes more than usual in having two hours in total, they will each make something for the holiday of their choice to feed a crowd. That celebration will be the fact that they must make enough not only for Alejandra and the three judges, but also for the all six cooks, the ten who will share the meal family style around a single table.

Up to this point in time, the contestants have largely been asked to cook food that is familiar and personal to them. They are taken out of their comfort zone in round one where in a random draw, they, with an hour to do so, are each asked to prepare a dish from a recipe submitted by one of their competitors. They will have said recipe submitter as a resource, but the judges are also looking for each cook to put his or her own spin on what they are preparing. Each cook has generally not ventured too far away thus far from their ethnic background (with two Italians, a Vietnamese, a Mexican, and a Syrian remaining), but for round two, they have ninety minutes each to prepare a dish that is a fusion, that may be a combination of their own ethnic cuisine with that of a spouse or close friend, with where they currently live or in their travels, or anything else that may be personal to them in some way.

This week's dishes are all about family. In the first round for which the cooks will have sixty minutes, each will prepare a dish that has been passed to them by someone who they consider their chosen family, namely a friend. The judges will expect that each cook will have placed their own spin on that recipe, some who are also asked to put a judge's spin in suggestions provided by a judge during mid-cook. For the second round for which they will have ninety minutes to prepare, each will prepare a dish that has been passed down through the generations from their own family, those recipes which have a special place in the heart in that family connection. This collection of a new cooking family brought together for the show will be losing yet another one as the three cooks of best dishes of round two will be moving onto the next week's finale.

It's the finale, and the final three home cooks standing are Robin Daumit, Silvia Martinez and Foo Nguyen, the winner named after these last two rounds who will have his or her recipe featured on the cover of the Great American Recipe Cookbook. In round one for which they will have sixty minutes, they will each prepare on their own a dish that they always otherwise cook with a loved one. And in round two for which they will have three hours, they will each prepare a complete meal including a dessert which they feel highlights their story of the Great American Recipe. While their entire meal will be judged, it is the entrée which will be given the most weight. For this final round, they are each provided a special sous chef, however each "head chef" will be responsible for what is placed in front of the judges.